A Run-In with a Mutant
by MyNameIsEmma
Summary: Kind of a prequel to Hero Material. Figures that the first time Mariana visits Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters it's because she's helping a kid deal with his new-found, potentially mutant, abilities. M for swearing, just to be safe.


**Hey, guys!**

 **So I'm cranking out another one of those one-shots that I promised months ago. This is kind of like a prequel to the main story: Hero Material. I've never written the X-Men before so do let me know how I did on that front, please.**

 **Otherwise, enjoy!**

 **. . .**

Mariana had heard of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters long before she had stepped foot in the building for the first time. In fact, when she was 12 and ran away from her foster home for the third time was when she met Scott and Ororo, though at the time they introduced themselves via their codenames.

 _"Hello, my name is Storm, this is Cyclops."_

 _"We want to help you."_

 _"I don't need your help."_

She didn't stick around with them for long, as soon as they mentioned the institute and suggested talking to her parents she had simply told them that she was not a mutant and promptly found herself in a back-alley of Chicago that smelled like old Thai food. She hadn't forgotten about the mysterious woman with the strange hair or her broody friend with the red tinted glasses. she'd even considered popping by the school and saying hi a few times but resolved to continue as she had been, on her own.

It wasn't until Mariana was 16 that she ended up at the school.

It wasn't until she ran into a boy on the street - literally - that she finally decided to go. Because the boy she ran into? He was a mutant. An invisible one. Which, when you think about it, made it all the more impressive that Mariana _ran into_ him.

She was eyeing a fresh pastry through the window of a cutesy little cake shop in New England when there were a series of shouts and crashes from further up the street. Curiosity caused her to turn in time to watch as three different tables outside a cafe were knocked and chairs were toppled as though someone was bumping into them as they ran past.

"The hell...?"

She started jogging towards the commotion, where a lot of shocked customers were jumping out of their seats and looking around wildly. One young couple were clinging to each other while another angry guy in a business suit was shouting about his latte being spilt all over his suit. Before she got anywhere near, though, something - _someone_ \- ran straight into her with a grunt and sent both of them sprawling. Pushing herself up onto her elbows with wide eyes, Mariana stared at the sidewalk in front of her where she could clearly hear muttered curses and heavy breathing.

"Uh...hello?"

The breathing abruptly stopped for several seconds of silence and Mariana was torn between believing the person - because there had to be a person there, there just had to be, right? - had died and believing they had somehow left.

"You can see me?"

Mariana shook her head but noted how young the boy's voice was, he probably hadn't even hit puberty yet judging by the pitch and the child-like innocence she had long since lost herself.

"No, but I can hear you." She glanced around. "Maybe we should take this off the street."

Two minutes later the two were stood in a ground floor public bathroom of a small office building with the door locked. The only reason Mariana knew he was still there was the sound of his breathing. She still couldn't see him.

"Okay," she sighed, "Let's get the awkward stuff out of the way first, cool? You a mutant?"

"I - uh - I'm not - maybe?"

Mariana bit her lip as she stood there, arms crossed and staring in the general direction of the boy's voice. She nodded after a few moments as if deciding something.

"I read at the library that Mutations can develop because of stress."

"Where?"

"The library," she replied in a 'duh' tone. "Where else?"

"Right."

"So?"

"So, what?"

Mariana sighed. "Did something stressful happen that could have triggered a mutation? You were running like hell back there so I assume you were running _from_ something."

It took a few tense seconds before the boy replied. "Yes. Something...something did happen. My, uh, my parents..." The manner in which he trailed off and the hitch in his voice told Mariana all she really needed to know.

"My name is Mariana, I didn't catch yours and calling you 'Speedy' in my head just seems rude."

She ignored the small sniff and the rough quality to his voice when the boy next spoke. "Ethan."

"Okay, Ethan, nice to meet you. Listen, I'm guessing you don't have much control of your abilities right now otherwise I'm assuming I'd have a face for that name. I know of a place, honestly, I haven't been there myself but I've heard a lot of good things. It's a place for mutants, mainly kids. A place to learn control. I can take you there. If you want to go."

"I want to go," he replied almost immediately. "Ho do we - how do we get there?"

Mariana grinned, sharp but sweet. "Well, I might not be a mutant but I have a few neat tricks of my own."

. . .

Ethan threw up.

Mariana teleported them just outsides the gates of the compound, having looked up the address and memorising it long ago, and Ethan had instantly mumbled a quiet curse before the pressure of his hand disappeared and retching was heard to Mariana's left. Seeing vomit erupt from seemingly nowhere would forever remain one of the more disgusting things she had seen.

Being as impatient as she was, Mariana opted to ignore the intercom by the gate and instead reached out for a seemingly better Ethan before teleporting them both just to the other side of the gate. That time he only mumbled a few complaints but his stomach remained under control.

"I figure it would be best not to surprise a bunch of mutants by appearing out of thin air so we can walk up from here."

"Oh thank God."

"Shut up," she laughed as the two began their trek up the driveway.

It wasn't long before they caught sight of the first few students and not long after that, the students noticed them. One started to approach - a girl with dark hair that had a steak of white - and a brunet male began to follow her. They looked to be a year or two older than Mariana. After a few steps, their attention was caught by an older male with slightly long brown hair. He was dressed pretty smartly and was headed right for the two newcomers after waving at the students who stopped in their tracks.

"Starting to wonder if we will be welcome here," Ethan piped up.

"You realise I could literally get us out of here in the blink of an eye, right? Hold on to me if you're scared. Not like anyone'll notice." She was slightly surprised when she felt the younger boy grip her sleeve but said nothing as they kept walking. The man stopped a few feet from them so the teenagers dd the same. Though the man - presumably a mutant judging by his red eyes - could only see Mariana, he frowned and glanced around her as if expecting to see someone else too.

"Hello, can Remy help ya, petite dame?" The man spoke with a smooth accent that she couldn't entirely place but Mariana recognised the last few words as French and smiled at him politely, ignoring his strange third-person reference.

"Not me," she nodded her head to her right where Ethan was still gripping her sleeve, unseen by the red-eyed mutant though he did follow the mutant. "My friend Ethan here is invisible, we think he might be a mutant but he can't seem to turn it off."

"Sure, tell him my life story while you're at it," Ethan grumbled and Remy's eyes lit with understanding and amusement.

"I met you an hour ago, I told him everything I know."

"Exactly."

"Oh shut up." Mariana aimed her elbow where she assumed Ethan's side would be but missed entirely and could practically feel him smirking so she just grumbled to herself and turned back to their one-man audience. "So? You want to help us or not because that lady Storm and her broody friend Cyclops told me this was like mutant central. Not in those words obviously but I can read between the lines like that."

"How do you know them?" a gruff voice asked behind the two and while Mariana only felt Ethan tense slightly, she damn near jumped out of her skin as she swung around.

"Holy shit, the hell did the lumberjack come from?"

The man before them was relatively short, ith hair sticking up oddly, several days of scruff on the sides of his face and was wearing a dirty white wife-beater with a flannel shirt tied loose around his hips. He didn't exactly look friendly with his 'I could crush you like a grape' muscles and a scowl that said he probably would.

"Come on, Wolvie. Is that any way to speak to our new students, mon ami?"

"Student," Mariana was quick to correct Remy. I'm not a mutant." She ignored his sudden frown in favour of returning her attention to the scruffy guy. "Well, _'Wolvie',_ they tried to talk me into coming here a few years back but I told them what I just told this guy: I am not a mutant and I don't need anybody's help."

The man's scowl deepened and he took an almost threatening step towards Mariana. she felt Ethan's hand clasp around her left forearm just as she tried to step forward herself (her actions didn't go unnoticed by either adult present).

"Maybe it isn't a good idea to antagonise someone when you don't know what they're capable of," he said quietly.

"Tell that to him," Mariana grumbled before wisely stepping back down, noting the almost appraising look in the man's eye and the grin on Remy's face.

Remy clapped his hands. "Let's go meet the professor. Follow Remy."

. . .

Mariana struggled to keep her jaw off the floor as the group of four - yes, the scruffy guy decided to join them - travelled to meet this professor. By Remy's chuckle and the way scruffy guy's lips almost twitched into a smile, it was clear that both had noticed the teenager's wasn't the size of the place that struck her. Nor was it the sheer amount of people - teenagers! It was the joy each one of them radiated. The obvious freedom to just _be_.

A group of kids her age walked by and one of them used his tail - his tail! - to tap another on the shoulder in a childish prank. The victim responded by blowing smoke in the first guy's face causing him to cough. The third member of the group wasn't even walking on the ground. - she was floating about three inches above it.

 _Holy crap,_ she thought as she started walking backwards to watch the three continue down the hall, barely catching the glance shared between the two men with her before Ethan tugged her out of the way of a fuzzy blue guy she'd almost walked into.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, though she looked at him in wonder as he stopped walking and smiled pleasantly at the group.

"No harm done, dear. Hello Remy, Logan."

"Hey, Beast."

"Beast?" Ethan questioned, startling the man before them while Mariana continued to stare in awe.

"Oh, hello young man. I- uh- I'm afraid I cannot see you."

Remy proceeded to explain the situation to 'Beast' until Logan broke in.

"Alright, Swamp-rat. We best be getting to see Chuck. See ya around, Blue."

Beast smiled politely and bid them all goodbye before continuing on his original journey, leaving Mariana staring after him.

"Y'know, considering you're so insistent on not being a mutant and so not sticking around, shouldn't I be the one gaping like a fish at everything?"

Mariana snapped her mouth closed on a retort and took to staring blankly at the ground as she continued to follow Remy and Logan to wherever they were going. Her thoughts were running wild.

Swamp-rat? Beast? Wolvie? _What the hell is this place?_

 **Somewhere safe.** A voice echoed in Mariana's mind and she stopped abruptly.

 _Hello?_

 ** _Hello, Miss Hadley._**

 _Who are you?_

 _ **My name is Charles Xavier, I run the school.**_

 _You're the Professor?_ Mariana started walking again with a new determination in every step, ignoring the inquiries of her companions and pushing past both Logan and Remy to follow the voice in her head.

 _ **Indeed, welcome.** _ Just as he said that Mariana shoved an old oak-wood door open and marched into a spacious office occupied by a bald man in a wheelchair, two familiar faces and a pretty redhead woman.

"Stay out of my head," Mariana growled the second she set eyes on the man who had to be the Professor. "It isn't nice to read people's thoughts without their permission. In fact, it's kinda creepy so how about you stop that and I don't drop you in the middle of the pacific."

Everyone in the room tensed while Remy and Logan seemed more amused than anything. Ethan hissed at her to stop antagonising people.

Charles Xavier smiled. "As you wish. My apologies, I did not wish to overstep."

"Too late," Mariana grumbled but allowed her shoulders to slump back down from their defensive position and sighed. "You're forgiven, though. Anyway, I'm not here so you can help me. Just hoping you can help out Ethan."

. . .

"So how exactly were you planning to get Chuck to the middle of the pacific?"

Mariana turned from the bookcase she was studying to glance at Logan. He was stood a few feet away with his arms crossed but while his face didn't scream 'friendly' it did shout 'amused'. The teenager shrugged and ran a finger down the spine of a random book.

"I have my ways." She threw a small grin over her shoulder at the mutant before glancing in the direction of Xavier and a now visible Ethan. "I'm glad you guys can help him. I don't think you're gonna make him hide or dissect him or something. He'll be safe here. Happy." She turned to fully face Logan, who now had a thoughtful expression. "Guess I should go."

"You told us you weren't a mutant," Storm began as she approached the two, Cyclops and the redhead - Jean, the Professor had introduced her. "Yet you do have abilities. How are you so sure?"

"Rigorous testing," Mariana stated with the over-dramatic serious tone of a self-deprecating joke as she rocked forward on the balls of her feet. She saw Logan tense momentarily out of the corner of her eye as his expression tightened but her attention was caught by Remy's question.

"So what can you do, cheri?"

"Go places." Mariana shrugged.

"She's a teleporter." Mariana glared daggers at Jean and took a small step forward as she finally noticed a pressure pushing against her mind.

"Get the hell out of my head, _Jean._ The professor isn't welcome there and neither are you." Jean's eyes narrowed on her for a brief second and Scott stepped forward almost protectively but Logan's hand landed on Mariana's shoulder to nudge her back a little while Storm and Remy watched on warily.

"Red," Logan said and gave Jean a meaningful look. The presence in her mind retreated but the tension in the room remained until Mariana forced herself to relax her stance and rubbed a hand over her face wearily. One look at everyone's faces when she composed herself told her the quiet "Fuck" she mumbled wasn't low enough to go unnoticed. She smiled brightly at all of them.

"Okay, yes, I can teleport. See? I can go places. I didn't lie.

"Are you...okay?" Cyclops asked. Mariana tried to remember what Xavier said his name was. Scott? Yeah. Scott.

"Sure. I probably should be going, though. If CPS comes knocking you tell them you didn't see me, got it? The pacific is still an option."

Before any of them could even begin to process the newest piece of information - foster kid - Mariana was over saying goodbye to Ethan.

"You stay outta trouble, kid. Okay?"

He nodded. "Try to do the same yourself."

"Not exactly my style."

"Never would have guessed."

Mariana hugged him before turning to Xavier. "You take care of him. I might come knocking every once in a while."

"I'm sure we would be devastated if you didn't"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"You could stay too. You say you're not a mutant but there is still room for you here. You obviously already have an incredible degree of control over your abilities but this is still an educational facility.

Mariana gave a half smile and shook her head. "Nice try but I think we both know I'm not cut out for this kind of cosy lifestyle." She tapped her temple with two fingers for emphasis before hesitantly sticking out a hand. "Thank you."

It wasn't enough. It didn't cover anywhere near what she wanted to say. _Thank you for letting me catch a glimpse of this kind of freedom. Thank you for helping them, supporting them. Thank you for not giving up. For giving people like me somewhere to go, teaching them how to be someone. Thank you for finding me that day because I know those two didn't just stumble upon me. Thank you._

"You're welcome," Xavier said. And if the words were echoed in her head well she said nothing as she waved at everyone once more before vanishing.

Three days later someone tried to kill Nick Fury and Mariana couldn't tell if her life changed for good then or back at the school.

 **. . .**

 **Guys, let me know if there is anything, in particular, you would like to see added to this series. I'm trying to plan out an Asgard one-shot and maybe a glimpse of Mariana's time training at Shield. Suggestions for anything are welcome and I'll do my best.**

 **Thanks, Emma.**


End file.
